Got soil? Go outside and dig your fingers in it. It’s World Soil Day! Here’s a message from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service on how important healthy soil is and how using conservation practices like no-till can help farmers take better care of their land. When soil is heavily tilled, the stalks from the previous crop are chopped, and the …
Global Manager for IFAJ
We want to congratulate our friend Jose van Gelder, Agriterra, for her new job with the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists. Here’s her announcement message from Facebook: Yippee!! As of next month, I’m appointed as the new Global Manager for the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ)! Great challenge and perfect combination with my current work at Agriterra, for which …
Borlaug Award Nominations Now Open
You can now place your nominations for the 2014 Borlaug CAST Communication Award. The award is organized by the Council for Agricultural Science & Technology, sponsored by DuPont and carries on the legacy of Dr. Norman Borlaug. The honor recognizes professionals working in the agricultural, environmental or food sectors who are promoting ag science in the public policy arena. This …
The Young Agrarian Community
Hello and welcome to the ZimmCast. In this week’s program we’re going to talk about Young Agrarians. During the 2013 Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference you met Sara Dent from a presentation she did at our opening reception. Now meet Sara in a more personal way via a conversation we had at the close of the CFWF conference. My focus …
People Who Love Bugs Who Eat Bugs
The past president of the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation, Tamara Leigh, shows off her Bekina Boots in this photo with several researchers. Tamara was presenting them with a thank you gift for taking time to meet with us. We were assembled in the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre during a stop on our CFWF farm tour. The Centre conducts research into …
Kenyan Researcher Honored at World Food Prize
Brilliant, well-spoken and pretty as a doll, Dr. Charity Kawira Mutegi was everyone’s darling at the World Food Prize symposium last week. The 38-year-old researcher from Kenya received the 2013 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, in recognition of her efforts to find the cause and a solution to a deadly outbreak of …
Australian Farmer on TATT Roundtable
Australian farmer Andrew Weidemann along with his wife and youngest son attended the Wold Food Prize with Truth About Trade and Technologies (TATT) Global Farmer Roundtable. While chatting with Andrew outside of his roundtable role, I learned more about life on his farm in Victoria. He and his brother are in a partnership along with their families. They are also …
Understanding Agriburbia
Have you heard of the term agriburbia? If not then this panel discussion that took place during the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation Conference will be helpful. The panel was titled, “Fraser Valley: is there room for big agriculture in a small setting?” This tied in with the theme of the conference. Our panelists were Dr. Lenore Newman, Canada Research Chair …
Canadian Cranberry Time
That cranberry was this big! At least that’s what it looks like Mike Wallis, BC Cranberry Growers Association Mgr., is saying during a presentation at Shergill Cranberry Farm, the second stop for the “farm bikers” tour group during the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation conference. Also on hand was farm manager Bob Deroche. They talked to us about the farm and …
Dancing Bekina Boots
These boots were made for dancing! Yep. Bekina ultra light polyurethane boots were dancing at the Canadian Farm Writers’ Federation closing banquet. All attendees received a free pair from Bekina and on hand to talk about them was Canadian distributor Cory Gibson, Alliance Mercantile, Inc. He says the boots are very lightweight because of the synthetic plastic they’re made out …